Sunday, April 20, 2008

Dos and Don'ts

Yes, pay attention!


sunny side up, then?

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Tripping on the Great Wall

I went to Mutianyu Great Wall with two friends last Sunday. We took the the 916 bus from Dongzhimen Long Distance Bus station. In my haste to get us there, we took the wrong bus. It's still a 916 bus but it's not the express one - it felt like the bus stopped every 500 meters. The trip took forever! My two companions didn't seem to mind. Liza slept through the whole trip, well, almost, after the this guy who keeps bumping the back of her seat got off the bus. Hazel entertained herself listening to music.



After almost two hours, we got off the stop mentioned in the directions I got from Baidu. The problem is, we are supposed to get on a No. 12 bus which goes directly to the Great Wall which, from what I deduced from the signs on the stop, no longer exists. (Yeah, I know, I was supposed to check the date the directions was posted. Oh, well...)

Fortunately for us, there is this mabait na manong who approached us and offered a ride to the Wall for RMB 60. After haggling for five minutes, we are on our way to the Wall on our RMB 30 cab ride. He also offered to come back for us after three hours (I thought we are physically fit and will walking that long) for RMB 35. We all agreed it was a good deal.

The entrance ticket cost RMB 45, includes a video CD about the Great Wall's history. We took a chairlift going up (RMB 35). The ride was a bit longer than the Gondola ride at the Badaling Great Wall.


We stayed up the Wall for an hour and a half (at most), the stairs tired me down. But these two with me seem to be running on energizer batteries, they have all the energy to goof around (when in fact, they are running on more than 15 hours without sleep).


playing Bato Bato pik


karate kick!

Fashion Statements

Early Spring fashion (Chaoyangmen, Beijing)


Blue skirt, Paisley shirt (Old Temple, Xian)


Ebony and Ivory (Kangfulu Road, Xian)


Lovely goldy pointy shoes,


and the dress the goes with it. (Beiyuanmen, Xian)


Pretty in pink in the sweltering heat.
(Mutianyu Great Wall, Beijing)


Black goes with everything.
(Mutianyu Great Wall, Beijing)